Outsider
by Sliverloc303
Summary: "I mean the lives of these two kids, which are supposed to be seperate, are joined together becasue of a chance meeting with a billionaire. I mean it's sort of-." "If you say the word epic I'm going to kick your ass."
1. Chapter 1

**Outsider**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except the OCs.

**Another VM story from me. This is basically a VM mystery from an outsider's point of view.**

**Day 1.**

**New Jersey.**

The thing that tipped him off at first was that the door was ajar.

The door was never left open, not in the thirteen years that he had lived in his house, not even if his uncle quickly walked the seven feet from the house to get something from their parked car. His parents had made sure that there was a bolt on every door as well as a normal lock and that they had an alarm system that he suspected they'd copied from Fort Knox.

The door was never just _left open_.

Jamie stood at the top of the gravelled path that led to his house, his school bag slung over his shoulder. He looked at his house that was like every other house in the street and for a fleeting moment he thought that something had happened.

He pushed that thought from his mind quickly. Nothing ever happened in the small town in New Jersey. The last scandal was when his parents walked out on him when he was five and left him with his uncle.

He sighed and glanced at the house next door, belonging to his friend Casey, who he had just walked home with. She was a foster kid and the only other person in the house was her foster brother who was probably passed out in his room, still recovering from his adventures the night before.

He shook his head and put one foot in front of the other until he reached the door. He pushed it open, looking into the dark hall. Every window was covered with curtains because Uncle Ted said he didn't like it when people could see into the house. But it was quiet, really quiet. He couldn't hear his uncle working in his study or in the kitchen.

Jamie dropped his bag by the door and called out "Uncle Ted?"

Jamie jumped when he heard a thump from the back room and the sudden creak of the floorboards like footsteps.

"Uncle Ted?" He yelled again as he walked forward. A hand shot out from the sitting room door and covered his mouth, smothering another yell while an arm pulled him into the room. Jamie was pulled downwards until he was sitting on the floor with his back to the wall.

He looked beside him to see Uncle Ted crouching and panting. "What is going on?" Jamie asked, his words muffled by his uncle's hand.

Uncle Ted looked at him and paused. "Listen to me carefully and _don't_. Make. A. Sound."

Jamie was frozen but he managed to nod. There was more creaking and footsteps from the rooms on the other side of the house. Someone was looking for them.

"I can't believe they found us," Ted whispered, almost to himself.

He looked at Jamie and said "There are three people in this house and they want to kill me and maybe you too."

Jamie's eyes widened and his uncle continued. "We need to get to the cupboard in the hall upstairs. On the top shelf is a gym bag. I'm going to cause a distraction and you will get the bag and then get to the car. Get the bag and run. Don't stop for anything. _Anything_. And if anything happens, you need to get to Neptune, Califorina. Neptune. No police. Do you understand?"

Jamie nodded and Ted slowly lifted his hand away. The adrenaline was pumping through his veins and he had no clue what was going on. But something was telling him he could do this and to follow instructions. Jamie heard the floorboards creek on the other side of the wall. Somebody was in the hallway, only the wall separating them.

Uncle Ted held up one finger, then two. Jamie saw the countdown and when Uncle Ted held up a third finger and then sprang up; he pushed himself off the floor and sprinted out the other door that led to the stairs.

He heard a shout and some noises like punches but he took the stairs three at a time and hit the landing. He pulled open the hall closet and after seeing the bag, grabbed it and shut the door.

Jaime turned to see a man, tall and built; arrive at the top of the stairs. They both froze and then the man charged at him. On instinct Jamie ran forwards instead of back and when they met Jamie crouched down so the man tripped over him. He stood up, throwing the man over his back and flipping him to the ground.

Jamie didn't stop; he flew down the stairs nearly tripping at the bottom. He ran towards the open door but stopped when another man appeared in front of him. The man smirked, the scar on his cheek stretching like elastic.

"Hello, Scott."

Jamie frowned and stammered, "I-I'm not-."

Suddenly Ted appeared wrapping his arm around the man's neck in a chokehold. The two of them struggled and Ted called, "Forget the car! Just run!"

Jaime took off. He skidded on the gravel trying to keep hold on the bag. He ran down the street and around the corner.

Suddenly he stopped. Instead of running down the street, he threw the bag over the fence and then hopped over it into Casey's yard. He picked up the bag from the now crushed flower bed and made his way to the door, opening it, slipping inside and closing it behind him.

He stood there for a few minutes in Casey's laundry room looking out of the window, peaking to see if anyone walked by the fence. He turned when Casey walked into the room.

"Jamie?" she asked, "What are you doing here? What is going on?"

Jamie stood there panting and he said, "That is a very good question."

**Ohio**.

Jane and Carl were sitting at the kitchen table, the picture of a normal couple. The roast was well done, the vegetables were cooked and the cutlery shone. A normal couple, a normal family, living in Ohio.

He smiled slightly at this thought, watching them from his place on the other side of the table. If only they were normal.

"Is something funny Alex?" Jane asked her head tilted to the side in question.

Alex. That was his name now. It had been for a few months until they moved along again. He really needed to remember their new names too.

"Nothing," he mumbled.

There was a beeping from Carl's phone and both of their heads snapped towards the device that was sitting beside his wine glass. Alex frowned. His phone had never done that before.

Carl stood up and grabbed the phone answering it quickly and walking out of the room.

"Alex, go finish your homework," Jane ordered and Alex didn't dare tell her he had none. He stood up and walked towards the stairs.

As he slowly walked up the stairs, Alex could hear Carl hang up the phone and start talking to Jane. He heard fragments of their conversation. Something about 'Ted', 'New Jersey' and the 'files'. He never knew why they were running, having fake names and stories. Carl and Jane had always told him it was to protect him. But by the sounds of it, things just got very complicated.

"Is Jamie ok?" Jane asked quickly.

"Ted says that when got away himself, Jaime was nowhere in sight."

When Jane frowned Carl replied, "I'm sure he's fine. The kid's a natural fighter and Ted says his instinct is like no others. Plus they're not after Jaime. He is of no interest to them. It's Scott that they want."

Jane looked towards the stairs and then back at her husband. Carl picked up the phone again to dial a number. Jane watched him. The phone he had was like no other in fact there were special made and there were only a few like them. They had one, so did Veronica and Logan and according to Ted, Jamie had the one that was in the bag while Ted had managed to hang onto his own. He had given Jamie strict instructions and she only hoped he would follow.

**California.**

On the other side country Veronica Mars picked up her phone from the coffee table, the California sun shining in the windows and read the quick text message. Her heart dropped and she yelled out "LOGAN!" causing her husband to run into the room. They hadn't aged much, the years had been kind to them but tell-tell signs of worry marred their faces now.

"Scott?" he asked.

"He's fine," Veronica said, "But they're closing in. The house in New Jersey was attacked."

Logan sighed and placed an arm around Veronica. "What about Carl and Jane's boy?"

"He's ok too. But I'm guessing both of them are confused."

"Aren't we all?" he muttered. The two stood in the room, leaning on each other. Logan looked over Veronica's blonde head to look at the photo standing on the mantelpiece, the smiling face of three year old boy looking back at him.

Veronica turned to look at it as well. "We'll get him back some day," she said, "We will be a family."

Logan didn't doubt it.

**New Jersey.**

Jamie was sitting at her kitchen table while Casey got him a glass of water. He watched as she filled the glass, her blonde hair pulled up in a messy ponytail, and she turned off the tap, walking over to place the glass in front of him.

"Go through it all again," she said, trying to make sense of it all.

Jamie sighed. You can't make sense out of something that you knew nothing about. "There are men who tried to kill me and my uncle- who seems to have developed some form of ninja skills- and all I know is that I'm supposed to take this." He gestured towards the gym bag that was sitting on the table. "To some town called Neptune in California. And I'm not allowed go to police about this. How does any of that make sense?"

Casey sat down at the table and replied, "Is there anything else?"

Jaime sighed and shrugged, "One of the guys called me Scott. I don't know any Scott and I'm not him so...maybe he's the guy they're after as well. Plus my uncle said something about them finding us."

"Sounds like you guys were on the run or something," Casey said.

When Jamie gave her a disbelieving look she replied, "Hey do you know how many foster homes I ran away from? All those phrase you're using and the bag really sound like you were in hiding. Maybe your uncle was involved with something."

Jamie snorted, "The man colour codes his shirts and alphabetises everything. I doubt he's a dangerous fugitive."

Casey tilted her head, "What about your parents?"

Jamie shrugged and raised a hand to touch the necklace around his neck. The silver chain held a ring that he had had for years. Uncle Ted said he has found it in the dirt one day and that his parents had wanted him to throw it away. He had kept it though and Jaime considered it his first act of rebellion against the people who left him anyways.

"There was no mention of them and they've been gone for years."

"Well at least you know what to do now," Casey said, "Go to Neptune."

"Are you crazy?"

"That where your uncle told you to go-."

"Would you stop yelling?"

The two of them turned to the doorway to see Casey's foster brother, Tom, standing there, sleepy and in the same clothes that he had worn the night before. Casey tensed and replied, "Sorry." Jaime kept a close eye on Tom as he walked forward, swiping the glass of water from the table. He drained it dry and tossed to back in front of Jaime. Tom glanced around and then shuffled back towards the stairs.

"This place looks like shit!" he called, "Clean it before I get pissed."

They waited until they heard the slam of his door and then Casey let out a sigh. Jamie hated leaving in this house filled with people who treated her like crap.

"I'll go to Neptune if you come with me."

She stared at him for a moment and replied, "Why Jamie, I thought you'd never ask."

Minutes later they were in her room, Casey throwing clothes into a bag and Jamie staring at one. He was sat on her bed with the gym bag in front of him and finally Casey said, "You might as well open it now. We need to know what's in there."

Jamie sighed. Somehow he felt like there was no going back when he opened the bag. But he still reached forward and pulled the zip. The two of them looked into it.

"Well at least you don't have to pack," Casey commented after a moment. There were clothes in the bag, in Jamie and Ted's sizes as well as an extra pair of shoes. A laptop sat beside the clothes as well as a phone and what looked like another small bag.

Pulling this bag onto his lap, Jamie opened this as well. His jaw dropped at the sight of at least ten piles of fifty dollar notes. "There is at least 10 grand in there," Casey breathed.

Jamie put the bag back and the caught sight of something else that was under it. He hesitated at holding it but pulled out the hand gun. "Why do I think this got even more dangerous?"

"Just put it back," Casey said and Jamie quickly put it back at the bottom of the bag. Casey grabbed her bag while Jamie took the phone.

Turning it on and going straight to phonebook, he said, "There are no contacts in this thing, only words."

Casey looked at the screen too as she put her laptop in her bag. "Try that one," she said pointing to the one labelled 'Car'.

Jamie tapped the screen and a load of information appeared. A phone number, a name and an address for someplace in their town. "We need to get a car, fastest and safest way to get someplace without having to give information," Casey said.

Jamie nodded and pressed the call button. Putting it on speaker the two friends listened to the ring and then heard a man's voice say, "What is the emergency?"

They paused and Jamie looked at the phone. He didn't want to wait too long so he blurted out, "Scott."

There was a mumbling as someone seemed to be cursing and then the man said, "Sunside Mall parking lot. Third level, space 23."

The man hung up and Jamie put the phone back in his pocket. "I guess we have a car," Casey said.

**Later.**

It was dark by the time they were on the road. The car was where the man said it was, with the keys in the ignition.

Jamie felt the need to check the car over for tracers, telling Casey it was what they did in the movies. He was too afraid to tell her that it was his instinct telling him that. Just like it was instinct telling him to rush the man back at the house instead of run and to hide in Casey's house instead of run around like a headless chicken.

He was now sitting in the driver's seat while Casey slept beside him. He watched as the lights beside the road whizzed by, the miles to Neptune California dropping away.

That morning when he left for school, he never thought he would be doing this just a few hours later. He was way out of his depth and the only thing that kept him from freaking out about all the sudden turn of events was the fact that he had a goal. Get to Neptune.

Scared that his mind would drift to dangerous waters, he flipped on the radio. Music blared out, jolting Casey awake. Jamie quickly turned it down and apologised. She shrugged and Jamie changed the stations to hear the late news.

"_...and there was another arrest made today in the bank robbery case in California. The police have extended their thanks to Veronica Mars, an independent private eye that has helped the police on this case as well as many others." _

Jamie frowned and mumbled, "Veronica Mars...Mars...I've heard that name before."

Casey looked at him as he reached out and grabbed the phone from the dashboard and then pulled it off him. "No phone while driving," she said, "Where will I look?"

"Contacts," he said, "Under M."

She searched and then stopped, "There's a Mars here...but it's not Veronica. It's Scott. And there is nothing else. Coincidence?"

Jamie gripped the steering wheel. "You were right; this must have something to do with my parents. They are the only ones I think of and Veronica Mars is in California."

Casey nodded, "This guy seems to be in the middle of it."

Jaime only nodded and stayed silent. Scott Mars had a lot of explaining to do.


	2. Chapter 2

**Outsider**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except the OCs.

**To make it clear, Jamie is Carl and Jane's son while Scott is Logan and Veronica's son.**

**Thank you to all who reviews as well.**

"We needed to stop," Casey said as she tapped her feet on the dashboard in front of her, "It's getting late."

Jamie sighed and drummed his fingers on the wheel. "Alright, I'll stop at the next motel."

They had been driving for a more than a day stopping in motels that would accept cash and two teenagers alone. Right then they were in Arizona and close to where Jaime felt all the answers to his questions would be.

He had so many of them. Who was Scott Mars? Why were their people after him and Uncle Ted? Was Ted ok? Did this have anything to do with his parents? Did Veronica Mars have anything to do with all this?

Quickly spotting a sign for a motel, Jamie turned off the road and parked the car. A few minutes later, Jamie and Casey were settled in a room. It only had one bed but neither of them made a big deal out of it.

Jaime was standing in the bathroom washing his hands when Casey called him back to the main room. He walked back and saw Casey lying on the bed, the laptop open in front of her.

"You should see this!" she said and Jaime sat down beside her. "All that is on this thing is the Internet and files. Loads of files. And I found Veronica Mars."

Veronica's file was open on the screen and the two friends spent the next few minutes pouring over the information. All about the Kanes and Veronica's transformation, her investigations even her relationship with Logan who was now her husband.

"Well here's one thing that's clear," Jaime said pointing at the screen, "Scott Mars is their son."

"There's not much else here. It doesn't tell us where he is or what he has to with all this."

"Yes, well we don't even know what all this is ourselves."

Alex stared out the window of his room, his laptop sitting on his knees as he sat on the window seat. A knock at the door made him turn his head and Jane poked her head in the door.

"Dinner's ready," she said and Alex just nodded. Jane sighed and asked, "Are you alright?"

Alex paused and then said, "Is Jaime going to be ok?" Jane froze and Alex said, "I know about Jamie. I remember him."

Jane swallowed and replied, "He'll be fine. They're not after Jamie." Alex just nodded again and put his laptop down.

_Jaime sat in the back seat of the car, his nose pressed against the glass. He didn't know why his mummy and daddy had stopped here, a gas station in the middle of nowhere, on the way to their new house. They had told him to stay in the car while they went to talk to their friends._

_Jaime watched as a man and woman stepped out of another car and greeted his parents. They talked for a few moments and then the woman walked over to the back seat of the car and opened the door. A small boy, his age, got out of the car. The man and woman hugged him tightly and all three of them were crying. The man kissed the boy's forehead and the woman hugged him again. _

_Soon the boy was put in the car beside Jamie who had scrambled back to his side of the car. The boy was sniffing, tears streaming down his face. Jamie didn't know what was going but he still smiled slightly at the boy and said, "Hi. I'm Jamie." _

_The boy sniffed again and replied, "I-I'm Scott." _

Jaime jerked awake, shaking his head.

Casey was sleeping soundly beside him. The room only had one bed but thankfully neither of them made a big deal out of it and they quickly went to sleep.

Jaime laid back down, his dream still fresh in his mind. Where had it come from? Was it a memory instead? And if that was true then did he know Scott? Jaime sighed. So many thoughts running through his head.

"Jamie?" He turned to see Casey looking at him sleepily.

"Are you ok?" she asked propping herself up on her elbow.

Jamie swallowed as he looked at her. "Just wondering if Ted is ok?" he said, voicing one of his concerns.

Casey replied, "Well you said he was taking care of those men right? He must be able to look after himself and he gave you clear instructions. But it's only normal that you worry."

Jaime placed his hands behind his head and he spoke. "You know, people say that Ted raised me after my parents left but...really for the last few years, he's felt more like someone I like with rather than a family member."

"You know," Casey said, "a shrink would say that you were just trying to distance yourself mentally in case Ted left you like your parents."

"You would know, you've been to enough of them," Jamie said back.

Casey smirked and replied, "That's because I'm a troubled run away. What's your excuse?"

Jamie paused and then said, "Well a troubled run away who could be moved away at a moment's notice is the only constant in my life. That about sums it up."

Casey sighed and leaned her head against his arm. "Get some sleep; we need an early start to get to Neptune in the afternoon."

**Neptune, California.**

The sun shone brightly on Neptune the next morning and Veronica Mars sat at her desk in Mars Investigations on the phone to Logan. "How's the movie going?" she asked, "That star of yours playing up again?"

A few miles away Logan sat in the director's chair watching as a crew set up for the next scene. "He'll learn not to piss off his agent before he's had his coffee in the morning. Everyone is just waiting for the actors to show up to start and the director is around here somewhere."

Veronica smirked and said, "You're sitting in his chair again aren't you?"

"It's too comfy to resist. We need to get one for the house."

"You just want it to feel important."

"I am important! I manage half the actors on this set...I just really like the chair."

Veronica laughed but then paused and replied, "According to Ted Carl and Jane can't find Jamie."

Logan paused and stood up, walking away from the crowd. "Those phones were made to be untraceable so that the Johnson brothers and their hired goons can't find Scott. If the phone is doing its job then we should be glad."

Veronica opened a file that was sitting on her desk and picked up a security photo from a shop in Indiana. It's showed a girl with blonde hair exiting the front of the shop. In the background was a car with the driver turning his face away from the camera.

"From what Ted said the kid was told to go to Neptune but it's really difficult to track him. He never shows his face to the cameras and for a minor with no driver's licence he hasn't got stopped by the cops." Veronica smirked. "The kid's good at this."

Logan replied, "You almost sound proud."

Veronica replied, "His parents are great FBI agents. He should be good."

"That is why we hired them," Logan said, "You're not going to leave this alone are you?"

Veronica smiled and replied, "I'll see you at home."

"Don't cause any international incidents till I get there."

She hung up the phone with a goofy smile on her face-one that had annoyingly been on her face since she married him- and then dialled another number. A few minutes later, she heard the greeting, "What's the problem V?"

"Weevil, my old buddy, how's the garage going?" she asked leaning back in her chair.

"It's going good Mars now what do you want?"

"I'm not even going to pretend to be offended. Do you still have that friend in social services?"

"Yes, do you need her to find someone?"

"Can you get me everything on Jamie Carter? He's not a foster kid but he should be in the system when his parents left. Also there a girl called Casey Lewis. See if you can get her file."

Weevil nodded and replied, "Alright V. And just to tell you if you don't want me to guess that you want something, then don't answer the phone politely."

"Fine then, asshole."

"That's more like it!" Veronica could only shake her head.

**Meanwhile**

Jamie awoke when Casey slammed her hand against his arm. "Dude, wake up! I can see the beach!"

Jamie rubbed his eyes and opened them. Quickly he blinked, the sudden sunlight blinding him.

Casey laughed from the driver's seat and said, "The weather is great too! Neptune really seems like my kind of place."

Jamie looked out the window, seeing properly now and realised that they were driving down a bright street in Neptune, the beach to their left side. "We are stopping here," Casey said as she turned into a parking space, "I really want to see the sea."

They both got out and locked the car, Casey taken off towards the sea straight away. Jamie took his time going after her, slipping sunglasses on and looking around at the various people, kicking the golden sand under his feet. He was a few feet from the water's edge when he decided to sit down.

He was just pulling the phone from his pocket when Casey sat herself down beside him. "What are you thinking now?"

Jaime thought for a moment and then replied, "Last night...I had a dream or a memory...I think I know Scott Mars."

Casey frowned and asked, "How?"

Jamie shrugged going through the contacts again. "I think he's our age and I think he was staying with us for a while. I'm not sure, I was pretty young." He stopped suddenly and stared at the phone.

"What is it?" Casey asked.

Jaime turned the screen towards her and there were the words 'Veronica Mars' staring back at her filed under the letter V.

"I knew she had something to do with this!" Jamie said standing up.

Casey hurried to her feet and asked, "But what are you going to do?"

Jamie stared at the phone before pressing a button and holding it to his ear.

"You're calling her?"

**On the other side of town**

Eric Johnson slammed the phone down on the table with enough force to shatter it. "Imbeciles," he hissed, not noticing the oak door of his office open.

"Brother? What is the problem?"

Eric looked up to see a dark haired man standing in the doorway, slightly younger than him. "It's just hard to find good help these days," he said, sitting back in his padded chair, "The scouts didn't find the Mars boy and they let a person of interest get away."

Richard sighed and replied, "Don't you think it's time to stop looking for the boy. The time lock on the money is wearing out in just three days. We can have the money then. Why do you still insist on hunting this child?"

"The reason is because this child is a sign that the old man got the last laugh!" Eric yelled, "Our father died thinking he got away with cheating us! And I will make sure he was wrong."

Richard could only walk out the door, seeing his brother was past help.

**Logan and Veronica's house**

Veronica heard the phone ring just as she put the key in her front door.

"Really?" she said, not believing that someone would call her just when she was balancing dry cleaning, groceries and case files all in one hand while trying to open the door with the other.

Getting inside her house and shutting the door with her foot, she dumped everything on the couch, pulled out her phone and answered on the last ring.

"Hello!"

There was a pause and then the other person said, "Veronica Mars?"

Veronica soon realised that it was the special phone she was on and she replied, "What's going on?"

"This is Jamie Carter...I need to ask you a few questions."

Veronica looked down to see some case files had fallen off the couch, including Jamie's. His picture stared back at her and she could imagine this blonde haired boy standing somewhere on the phone to her.

"I know you must have some questions Jamie," she said, "Did you get to Neptune?"

Jamie replied, "Yes."

"Well then you must come to my house immediately. Do you understand?"

"If I meet you then will you answer my questions?"

"Yes I will but we have to get you safe first alright?" Jamie agreed and then Veronica rattled off her address. The she said smirking, "And don't forget to bring Casey." There was a pause and Veronica waited.

Then Jamie replied, "Don't forget to bring Logan."

With that he hung up leaving Veronica a mix of shock and admiration.

As Jamie put the phone back in his pocket, Casey said, "What was that about?"

Jamie shrugged, "She was just trying to throw me off."

"And you did the same to her?" Casey replied.

Jamie shrugged and said, "We need to get to her house. She gave me the address."

"Let's go then," Casey said and turned towards the car.

"How can you be so calm about this?" Jamie asked following her.

Casey didn't turn around but replied, "Well how else am I suppose to be? Freaking out won't help." Jamie could only agree.

"Let's go meet Veronica Mars," Casey said as they sat into the car.

As Jamie started it up, he sighed and said, "Why does that sound more trouble than it's worth."


	3. Chapter 3

**Outsider.**

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing except the OCs.

**Once again thank you to everyone who reviewed. It's always nice to have feedback.**

"This. Is their house?"

Jamie looked out of car window gazing at the same house-or mansion, he wasn't sure- that Casey had just commented on.

"I thought you said she was a PI?" Casey asked, looking at him. Jamie nodded and said, "Yup but I think her husband is some sort of agent for actors and movie stars."

They both got out of the car and the cool breeze from the sea greeted them. "I can't believe they have a beach house!" Casey exclaimed, "It's so cool!"

Jamie pulled off his sunglasses and threw them back in the car before locking the door. Then he and Casey walked up the stone path to the wooden front door. Jamie's hand paused on the doorbell, hesitating. Casey grinned and banged her fist on the door for him. He glared at her but his face softened at her smile.

The door was quickly opened and a man stood there looking at him. He had short brown hair and was wearing jeans with a blue shirt. A smirk came to his face. "Jamie and Casey I'm guessing?" he said.

"You must be Logan?" Casey answered.

Logan let them in and when he shut the door behind them, he led them down a well lit hallway to an open plan sitting room and kitchen.

The entire back wall was made of glass and wooden frames, with a long window seat running all along the windows. All except for a set of double doors that opened out to the back porch and decking which immediately met the beach. The kitchen had wooden cabinets and it smelt of baking while the sitting room had a large TV and comfy couches and armchairs. The house may seem like the perfect Hollywood home on the outside but inside it seemed comfy and lived in. It had a family feel to it.

"Veronica! They're here!" Logan called up the stairs that were at the back of sitting room and he gestured for the two of them to sit down on the couch.

Just as they did, a woman appeared at the top of the stairs and quickly made her way down. She was also wearing jeans with a yellow t-shirt, her blonde hair pulled back from her face. She was shorter then her husband and Jamie was sure he was also taller than her.

But with eyes that hinted at a cunning mind and a reputation that seemed beyond possibility, Veronica Mars-like she did countless people she met- scared the shit out of him.

He barely noticed Casey stand up to greet her and he soon followed her example.

Veronica smiled at them and asked, "Would you like anything to eat? Drink? You've travelled a long way." Casey replied they were fine while Jamie just stood there. They sat down again when Logan brought over some drinks and food anyway and soon Jamie was sitting opposite Logan and Veronica. Casey explained what had happened to them from the time the men attacked the house to them arriving Neptune while Jamie just sat there.

What was wrong with him?

Well, he was pretty sure he was...nervous. He had read enough about Veronica Mars that made him weary of her and Logan? Well Logan had his own reputation and was the man who deserves Veronica. That alone made him very nervous.

He finally came back to Earth when Casey finished her story and he said, "So can we cut the bull now because I'd like to know what's going on?"

The three of them looked at him in surprise and he replied, "I don't need any more pleasantries; I just want to know why people are after me? And considering that my whole life be a lie and you two-," he pointed at them, "-seem to hold some answers, I'd like to know them now."

There was a pause and then Veronica turned to Logan and said, "See? I told you he was good."

Logan nodded back and replied, "Well I thought he seemed a little quiet. Guess I got that wrong."

Jamie clenched his jaw and Veronica said, "Alright, I think it's time we told you everything."

Before she could say anything more the front door slammed open and a few seconds later slammed shut again. They heard footsteps hurrying to the sitting room and a young girl appeared. She stopped when she saw Jamie and Casey, her back pack bouncing behind her. A boy walked up beside her and he frowned at the two teenagers.

"Kyle, Taylor, this is Casey and Jamie. They're here for a visit," Veronica said. She turned to the visitors and replied, "These are our kids."

Jamie nodded while Casey waved slightly. Taylor waved back happily while Kyle just scowled and went upstairs. Logan watched him go and muttered to Veronica, "I'll talk to him later."

Taylor bounced over to Casey and she said, "Do you know how to make paper airplanes?" Casey smiled but shook her head, "I don't make great ones. But Jamie makes amazing paper planes."

Taylor turned to him and said very seriously, "Will you make me one because Tommy Peters in my class says he makes the best paper planes ever but I told him he didn't and then he said he did and then I said he didn't so now he wants me to bring a better paper airplane then his one."

This was all said in one breath and Jamie was slightly stunned so he just nodded.

"Honey, why don't you go upstairs and start your homework?" Veronica asked smiling at her daughter's antics and Taylor nodded pulling a piece of paper out of her bag for Jamie, before running upstairs.

Casey grinned, "She is adorable."

"Can we get back to the point?" Jamie said, starting to fold the paper while still looking at Veronica and Logan. Veronica sat forwards and put her hands together.

"It all started thirteen years ago. The Johnson family was the most powerful and richest in California. The head of the family was Edward Johnson and he was a gifted lawyer who used his knowledge to get around every law he could think of. He made billions, all of which would be left to his two sons Eric and Richard, when he died. But the brothers decided they could wait too long and plotted to kill their father.

But he figured out what they were doing...and he figured out that he was dying anyway. To punish his sons for their plotting, he locked away all his money, billions of dollars in a vault at a bank right here in Neptune. It's the most secure vault in world and only a four digit code can open it. No one can get into it, either with force or trying to guess in the code. The whole contraption is so sensitive that if anyone even puts in one wrong number or tries to force the vault open, the traps inside cause the explosives inside the vault to go off. Not only would the money be gone but the entire building would be destroyed and everything in it as well. Only Edward Johnson knew the code."

Here Veronica paused and sighed so Logan took over. "He knew that he had to keep the code away from his sons so one day he went to the park and picked someone out to give the code to. There was a bunch of kids barely four years old who were playing baseball at a picnic. When the ball rolled away from them and near to him, Johnson picked the kid that ran after it. He talked to this four year old boy for less than a minute, apparently flipping this coin he always had with him over and over again. Then he just walked away. The person watching the kids ran towards this boy and asked him what the man had said. The kid told him that the man had just said a number over and over but it was a secret."

Logan stopped and cleared his throat. Then he said, "That kid was Scott, our oldest son."

Jamie and Casey looked at each other and Jamie said, "We guessed he was."

Veronica nodded and replied, "We knew he was in danger when Edward Johnson died the next day from natural causes. Scott was the key to billions of dollars. Not only would the Johnson brothers be after him but so would anyone else that wanted the money. The story was all over the country, everyone knew who Scott was. We need to hide him. That where you're parents came in, Jamie. I met them when I trained with the FBI. They were really good, some of the best and when I left the agency we kept in touch. I asked them to take Scott and hide him, keep him safe. And that what they've been doing for the past thirteen years."

Jamie looked down at his hands and saw a perfect paper plane sitting his hands. He hadn't even realised he was making it.

Casey swallowed and said, "So they left Jamie with his uncle Ted and they've been on the run?"

Logan nodded. "Ted actually isn't your uncle, he's another agent. It was important that you were safe too in case the Johnsons made a connection between us and your parents. Which they did a few days ago."

Jamie sighed. His questions were answered but that didn't make him feel any better. "So what now?" he asked in a slightly worried voice.

Veronica and Logan looked at each other and then Veronica replied, "There's a time lock on the vault that runs out in three days. That means that the code won't matter and the door will just open to the first person who turned the handle. The Johnson brothers will have the bank locked down on that day."

"And then Scott will be safe and I'll get my parents back?" Jamie asked.

Logan frowned and said, "There a problem. Eric Johnson hated the fact that his father got the last laugh. He wants to kill Scott to get back at his father."

Casey frowned and asked, "What is wrong with him?"

"We ask that every day," Veronica said, "We've been working for years to try and put him behind bars but he still gets away with everything." She scoffed and said, "He's even throwing a ball for his rich friends tomorrow night to celebrate the release of the time lock. And it's not like we can sneak in to his office and have a look at the files he has in there."

Logan replied, "Eric Johnson is a control freak. We have it under good authority that he has all his business written up in files that he keeps under lock and key in that office, even the illegal activities."

Jamie leaned back on the couch and thought for a moment. Then he said, "But Johnson doesn't know what we look like."

The three of them turned to look at him and he said, "Look, the guy that attacked the house called me Scott. I don't think they have any idea about me or they just don't care. Plus Ted never let me take a school picture so there's no current picture of me in the system. And why would they pay any attention to my neighbour? We could sneak in."

Veronica and Logan looked at each other and then Logan said, "Not happening. It's too dangerous."

Jamie looked at Casey who nodded to him, showing him she was on his side, and then he sat forwards and replied, "No offence Mr. Echolls, but what would you have done if someone said that to you when you were my age?"

Logan cracked a smile and Veronica smirked before saying, "Look we will talk about this tomorrow. You two can stay the night and we need to keep you safe anyway."

While Jamie and Casey walked out to get their bags Logan said to Veronica, "You know they're going to go ahead with their plan. We need to help them or they'll get hurt."

Veronica sighed and replied, "We'll call Ted. See what he says."

They walked to the kitchen with the intention of starting lunch.

The door opened and shut and they heard Wallace called from the hallway, "Hey! Mars, Echolls!"

Wallace appeared in the kitchen and walked over to them at the counter. "Hey, I got your message. What's your news?"

Veronica gave a glance to the stairs and then said, "Carl and Jane's son is upstairs."

Wallace's eyes went wide and replied, "What? Since when?"

"It's a long story but the point is that nobody can know that he is here. He brought a friend with him as well."

Wallace sat down at the kitchen island and Logan put the coffee pot on. "I have to tell you, this is an amazing story," Wallace said, "I mean, the lives of these two boys, which are supposed to be separate, are joined together because of a chance meeting with a billionaire. I mean, it's sort of-."

"If you say the word epic I'm going to kick your ass."

Jamie and Casey were soon settled into two separate spare rooms, Casey's near Veronica and Logan's room while Jamie was beside Kyle's.

The younger boy, who was thirteen, had his door firmly shut, like he was blocking out the world while beside him was Taylor's room, who had her door wide open.

#Jamie had the paper plane in his hand and he cautiously walked into her room and saw her sitting at her desk. Her blonde hair was pulled back and she had Logan's eyes which now turned to see Jamie standing in her doorway.

She smiled widely when she saw the plane and asked, "Does it fly?"

Jamie smiled and sent the plane flying through the air. Taylor laughed happily and Jamie reached out to catch it.

Then he walked over to the desk and crouched down beside her holding out the plane."It's all yours and much better than any of Tommy Peters' planes."

Taylor smiled widely and suddenly hugged him, her arms wrapping around his neck. Jaime was startled for a moment. He wasn't used to kids especially seven year olds but he hugged her back.

She pulled away and placed the plane on the table. Then she caught sight of the ring on his necklace. "Where did you get that?" she asked.

Jamie looked at it and then at her. "I found it when I was little. Now it's mine, just like the plane is yours."

Taylor smiled happily but then they heard a voice at the door. "Great, piece of paper. You must be so excited."

They both turned and saw Kyle standing in the doorway, scowl on his face. Taylor went quiet and her face turned sad.

"What's wrong with you?" Jamie asked, angry at this boy.

Taylor mumbled, "He's just grumpy because of Scott. He's always grumpy."

"Will you shut up?" Kyle snapped leaving the room.

Jamie got up and hurried after him. He caught him at his doorway and called "Hey!" Kyle turned and frowned again at Jamie.

"I don't exactly know what you're going through but that's no way to talk to a seven year old, especially your little sister."

Kyle scoffed and replied, "You're right, you have no idea what is going on. You don't have a brother who isn't even here but still gets more attention. And I do know what's going on by the way, with the money and the code. Mom and Dad told me a year ago. My parent's attention is all on Scott and he's probably not even in the same state."

Jamie shook his head and replied, "Trust me kid, I know what you're going through. My parents basically chose him over me. You still have your parents and a little sister. Don't pretend you have nothing and you know what?" Kyle's face had softened at this point and Jamie sighed. "We can't even blame Scott for all this. He was four years old; he had no clue what he was doing."

Kyle looked at him and then turned to go back to his room. Jamie just nodded and walked back down the hallway.

When he turned the corner, he jumped when he saw Veronica standing there. "Are...are you ok?" he asked.

Veronica smiled at him and replied, "He's got the same habit and Logan and me. He puts walls up, blames everyone else." She sighed slightly. "We've both always been good on calling people out on their shit. But it's different with our son."

Jamie shrugged, "It's understandable. That's what Scott is supposed to be for."

Veronica nodded and the two of them walked down the stairs.


	4. Chapter 4

**Outsider.**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing except the OCs.

_The two boys followed the coin like they were watching a tennis match. _

_Carl smiled at them and flipped the coin in his hand again, causing the boys to look up and then back down as the coin fell into his palm. "Do you want to know the secret to all magic?" he asked them, both of the boys nodded their heads. _

_Carl flipped the coin over and over in his hands so fast the boys couldn't keep up. Suddenly the coin disappeared and the boys gasped. Carl smirked and pulled the coin from behind Jamie's ear, causing Scott to gasp. _

"_Misdirection," Carl said, "Make the audience look one way while you make magic. Simple." _

_He tossed it to Scott and said, "Give it a go." The two boys smiled and hurried off, flipping the coin. _

A thunder clap caused Jamie to wake up.

It took him a minute to realise that he was in Veronica and Logan's spare room and there was a thunder storm going on outside in the night. He lay back down, sighing at his memory. He had been having more and more flashbacks since yesterday when he had his first one. At least now he knew that he did in fact know Scott, they had met before and he wasn't hallucinating.

Suddenly the door opened and then closed. Jamie looked to see Casey hurry towards the bed and climb in beside him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

His answer was a scream from her when she heard another thunder clap. She placed her head against his arm and pulled the covers over her.

"Are you scared of thunder?" he asked slightly amused.

"Shut up and go to sleep," she ordered.

It was a while later and Casey was asleep but Jamie wasn't.

He slipped out of the bed quietly and made his way down to the kitchen. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and gaped at the sight in front of him. Through the glass windows he saw the thunder storm in all its glory as it moved over the turbulent sea. Lightening was clear against the sky and all Jamie could say was, "Woah."

"And that's why we got those big windows." Jamie looked over to see Logan walking out of the kitchen in his pyjamas.

"Can't sleep?" he asked and Jamie nodded.

"Well take a seat and I'll get us something to drink."

Jamie walked over to the window seat and sat with his feet up. Logan walked over to him and handed him a cup while he sat down opposite him.

"The view is always amazing when there's a storm," Logan said, "For some reason I always feel so calm when there's a storm. Of course Taylor crawled into our bed because she doesn't like the lightening but Kyle's used to it."

Jamie frowned and said, "Um, you may have heard that I kind of gave out to him earlier?"

Logan nodded and smirked, "Don't worry about it. I call him out on his shit all the time but maybe hearing it from someone else will help."

They were silent again, drinking from their mugs and watching the storm. Then Jamie looked at him and asked, "If you don't mind me asking, how on earth did you and Veronica get married? I mean from what I've read about you two, you're both severely messed up individuals. No offence."

Logan smirked again and replied, "I sometimes wonder that myself. But there is something you should know about Veronica, when someone tells her she can't do something; her actual reflex is to say "Watch me." You know I remember the day I asked her to marry me."

He laughed slightly and said, "She frowned and told me to get off my knee and put the ring away because she wouldn't marry me."

Jamie winched, "Harsh."

"Yes she is. Except a few hours later I was in an accident involving a motorcycle and a lot of alcohol and when I woke up in the hospital a while later, she was sitting there, scolding me for nearly denting her ring, which was sitting on her finger."

Jamie nodded and smiled slightly. "You see, the thing I figured out is that she was the only person in my life that understood me and I shouldn't let her go. And as for Veronica...well I always could see past her walls."

Jamie let these words pass through his mind and he nodded again. "Have you and Veronica thought about my plan yet?" he asked.

Logan sighed and replied, "It's a good idea and I think you and Casey could pull it off but we really don't want to put you in danger."

"I've been put in danger the day my parents brought Scott home. These men, the Johnson brothers, started all this and I'm going to help finish it. No offence but you and Veronica don't seem to be the kind of people who take things like this lying down."

Logan had raised his eyebrows when Jamie had spoken with such determination and then he smirked and replied, "I knew you were a good kid. But right now you need sleep. Go to bed."

Jamie nodded and handed the mug back to him, walking back to the stairs. Then he stopped and turned around saying, "Logan?"

Logan had stood up and now he looked back at him.

"Thanks," he said simply before walking back up the stairs. He rubbed his eyes and reached for the door, pushing it open.

But when he stepped into the room, he stopped. This wasn't the spare room.

It was a child's room, a boy's room. Toys were clearly in the chest at the bottom of the bed which was covered with fluffy blankets. It soon dawned on him that he was in Scott's old room. He quickly back out of the door and shut it.

When he reached his own room and shut the door behind him, he saw that Casey was still in bed. He climbed in beside her and lay back down.

She woke up and looked at him sleepily. "Hey is everything ok?" she asked.

Jamie replied, "Ya, everything's fine. I'm just sorry I dragged you into all this."

Casey laughed quietly and said, "Jamie you know I'd do anything for you. Going to California wasn't that much of a burden."

He wasn't sure if it was the electric feel from the storm outside or the way her smiling face lit up but something made her look even more beautiful then she usually did. _"...the one person in my life that understood me." _

So Jamie leaned over her and kissed her in one movement. He pulled back a moment later, his arms either side of her and he mumbled, "Um..."

And with the thunder rolling outside and the lightening sparking the sky, Casey tugged on the necklace around his neck and pulled Jamie's lips on hers.

The next morning Veronica found Jamie sitting at the kitchen sipping a glass of orange juice. He smiled at her and Veronica said, "Good morning."

As she reached for the coffee pot she asked, "Did Casey sleep well?"

There was a sound of a glass hitting the wooden counter and hands scrambling to pick it up. She turned around to see Jamie holding the empty glass again and he said, "We just talked!"

Veronica raised an eyebrow and he said, "Well there was some kissing involved but mostly talking." He sighed slightly and he said, "It's a little scary how much she understands me."

Veronica nodded and replied, "It usually is."

Taylor and Kyle joined them later and breakfast was soon ready. Logan came out of his office and sat beside Jamie at the island.

Jamie waited until the two kids had left for school and then he asked, "So are we going ahead with my plan or what?"

Logan looked at Veronica and replied, "You're not going to give this up are you?"

Jamie shook his head and said, "You can either help me or not but Casey and I are going to that ball tonight and we're finding some sort of evidence in that office."

"It wouldn't hold up," Veronica said, "You would have gotten illegally and it wouldn't be allowed in court."

Jamie paused for a moment and then said, "But if a cop saw it, in plain sight? If a cop saw something weird right in front of him, he or she would investigate, that would do wouldn't it?"

"You're saying that if we can get a suspicious file in clear view and get a cop in there to see it, then we'll have Eric Johnson right where we want him?"

Veronica said, thinking it through. She looked at Logan who said, "That might just work."

"But how are we going to get into the house without raising suspicion, get the files in clear view, get a cop in the office and get Jamie and Casey out of the house?" he said a moment later.

Jamie winced, "Yes, I didn't think of the details."

"Leave that to me," Veronica said, a mischievous smirk appearing on her face.

Logan and Jamie glanced at each other and Logan said, "Don't look at me. It's your plan."


	5. Chapter 5

**Outsider.**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except the OCs.

"_Are you guys ready?" _

Veronica's voice rang through the ear pieces and Jamie replied, "Yes. You?"

He was sitting in the front seat of Logan's car, which was parked down the street from the Johnson mansion. Logan sat in the driver's seat while Casey sat behind him. They both had ear pieces too.

"_Everything's good. We're getting a good view from the glasses." _

Jamie glanced up at the car mirror, seeing a pair of black rimmed glasses sitting on his face. They had a small camera in the bridge and it was broadcasting to the screen back in Veronica's home where both Veronica and her friend Mac were watching. Jamie wasn't sure what Mac did but apparently special surveillance gear like the glasses and the ear pieces were in her job description. That kind of worried Jamie a little bit but he figured she was a good person to have on their side.

"Stop pulling the wig!" Logan said to Casey who took her hands away from the short black wig on her head. Jamie wasn't exactly happy with his brown wig either.

"_Are you clear of the plan? This has to go well because I'm still not comfortable with this_" Veronica asked.

Logan said, "We've got it Ronnie, just relax."

Jamie and Casey glanced at each other when they heard Veronica swear but Logan was already out of the car. They followed his lead and the three of them walked to the back of the mansion. There, the catering company were getting more food and drink out of the van for the ball. Jamie and Casey were dressed similar to them, white shirts, black tie with black trousers.

Logan motioned for them to wait and they held back as he walked forward to the one waiter that was at the van. "Hey!" Logan said to him and the man turned around.

"Can I help you?" he asked, not at all happy to be distracted.

"Yes, I need you to be unconscious."

Before the man could ask why, Logan punched him straight in the head, causing the man to crumple to the ground asleep. "It's so nice to find accommodating help," he said as he picked the man up by his arms and dragged him to the pavement.

Logan called the two over and Jamie and Casey ran over and hid by the van. While Logan get another waitress to bring the waiter to the hospital because he 'passed out from an obvious alcohol induced accident' the two teenagers picked up random trays from the van and walked into the back door of the mansion.

**Meanwhile**

The ball was in full swing. The 09ers were mixing like only they could and Eric Johnson was in the best of moods. He sipped his champagne glass and looked around for his brother. He spotted him, by the ice sculptor on the phone to who he assumed what that doctor again.

Eric sighed and strolled over to his brother, greeting 09ers on the way.

Suddenly he bumped into a waiter who was holding a tray of drinks. The waiter looked at him through the lens of his glasses and almost frowned. Then he simply held the tray to him and said, "Would you like another drink sir?"

Eric just downed the champagne and placed the glass on the tray. The waiter walked off and Eric continued on his way to his brother.

Richard had just hung up and Eric hissed at him, "What is the problem now? Can't you act like a Johnson for once?"

Richard frowned and replied, "Emily had a setback, not that you would care! But she'll still be able to return home for a while tomorrow."

"You're right," Eric said, "I don't care. Now mingle."

With that he stormed off, leaving his brother standing there.

"_Alright,"_ Veronica said, _"The office is down the hall and to the left." _

Jamie placed the tray down on the table and discretely made his way towards the door to the hallway. He had almost lost it when he bumped into Eric Johnson but he managed to keep calm.

Jamie reached the hallway and walked down the carpeted floor. His footsteps were softened and he didn't bother to stop and look at the many paintings that were on the walls.

He turned left and muttered, "What door?"

"_The third on the right,"_ Mac replied.

Jamie made his way to the door, opened it and slipped into the room. Shutting the door quickly, he looked around the see that he was in a medium sized room, with a large oak desk and a padded chair at the end of the room.

"_Jamie, the filing cabinets are to the left in the corner. See if you can find anything." _

Jamie went to the cabinets and opened them, rifling through the files. "He must be stupid if he keeps these things in the open like this," Jamie muttered.

Veronica replied, _"He's not stupid, just arrogant_." Jamie pulled out a file and opened it.

A moment later he said, "Shit!"

"_What?"_ Veronica asked.

"They're broke! The Johnsons are completely broke! All their money is tied up in this house."

"_That's why he wants the money in the vault so much,"_ Mac muttered.

Jamie placed the file on top of the cabinet and looked through the other files. Soon he found ones on Veronica, Logan and Scott as well as his parents. There was just one reference to him though, no picture. He grabbed these files and closed the cabinet.

Suddenly he heard Casey hiss, _"Jamie! Eric Johnson is on his way to his office right now" Get out of there!" _

"I can't! I'm not done!" Jamie said back and he looked around the room for a hiding place.

**-EJ-**

Eric opened the door to his office and strode over to his desk, his footstep softened by the carpet.

Standing in front of his chair he looked around the desk for an order form. He was sure he had ordered more champagne then what had been served. Finding it, he picked it up and walked from the room, shutting the door behind him.

-**Jamie-**

Jamie let out a sigh of relief and crawled out from under the desk. At one point Johnson's shoes were centimetres from him.

"_Jamie?" _

He was pretty sure everyone had spoken at that point and he said, "I'm fine." He looked around and grabbed the shredder.

Turning it on, he took the files in one large pile and stuffed them into the shredder. Like he hoped the, the shredder jammed and the files were only half destroyed.

"_Why are you shredding them again?"_ Casey asked.

"When the cop shows up and sees some files in a shredder, what's the first thing he's going to think?"

"_That something funny is going on. Ok I get it." _

"Well, then it's time for you to make that call." With that Jamie hurried out of the room and returned to the main hall.

Meanwhile Casey returned to the kitchen, dodging catering staff who thought she worked for them and reached the small phone near the back.

Checking that no one was watching, Casey dialled the police. When it was answered but before the other person could say anything, Casey said, "There's a serious amount of drugs being taken at a party in the Johnson mansion. It's filled with extremely rich people and I'm not sure if they all have some."

With that she hung up and made her way out the back door. "Are you sure they'll be drugs here?" Casey whispered to Veronica.

"_I went to school with a lot of the people in that room. Trust me, there will be drugs and who knows what else." _

Casey waited outside until Jamie joined her and together they made their way back to Logan's car which was parked in the same place. When they slid into the car, Jamie let out a sigh of relief and Logan patted his shoulder. "You two did great. I think we've got him."

Soon they were back at the beach house. The minute Jamie set foot in the kitchen after Logan and Casey, Veronica was hugging him.

The adrenaline had worn off at this point and slight fear had crept into his heart; so he hugged her back, sensing that she didn't hug that many people.

She pulled away and said, "I think we all need a good sleep after that."

Casey nodded and made her way towards the stairs, Jamie following her.

"And separate rooms!" Logan called after them, causing a blush to appear on both their cheeks.

At the last moment Jamie looked back to see Veronica in Logan's arms and he kissed her forehead. He mumbled something and Veronica raised an eyebrow, replying with something no doubt very sarcastic. Logan grinned and Jamie walked up the stairs.

Casey managed to say goodnight with a quick kiss and Jamie walked to his room with a goofy grin on his face.

When he was in his pyjamas and on the way back to his room from the bathroom, he heard a small voice say, "Jamie?"

He stopped and looked into Taylor's room to see her lying in bed with a teddy bear, the covers pulled up. "What's wrong?" he whispered stepping into her room.

"The babysitter forgot to check the closet for monsters. Daddy always checks but the babysitter forgot. Will you look and see if they're there."

Jamie nearly smiled and went over to her closet. He opened the door and looked in. Closing it he turned to her and said, "Nope. No monsters in there."

She smiled at him and he walked over to her, kneeling down by her bed. "Now will you get some sleep?"

Taylor nodded but then asked, "When Scott comes back, are you leaving?"

Jamie frowned and said, "Where did you hear that Scott was coming back."

"I heard Mommy and Daddy say it this morning."

Jamie grinned. Apparently, she was as curious as her parents. "Well, if Scott does come back then I'll have to leave with my parents. I'll have to go back to New Jersey with them." The thought of leaving Neptune, which he had quickly gotten used to, depressed him a little.

Taylor sighed and said, "But I wanted to keep you."

Jamie was pretty sure he was close to crying at this point. The conflicting emotions of getting Eric Johnson, knowing his parents were free and the thought of leaving this family were starting to overwhelm him.

So Jamie replied, "Well, I'll write to you. I mean, I need to know if you bet Tommy Peters."

Taylor smiled and replied, "You should have seen his face when he saw your plane fly! It was so funny."

Jamie smiled and said, "Well get some sleep."

Before she could argue he stood up and walked out of the room, starting to close the door.

"Wait!" Taylor called and Jamie looked back into the room. "Leave the door open. I can't sleep in the dark."

Jamie nodded and left the door as it was. As he turned to go to his own room, he saw Veronica leaning against the wall.

"You heard all that?" he asked and she nodded. "She's a lot like Scott; he was afraid of the dark too but Kyle? Kyle wouldn't admit he was scared of anything because he's stubborn like me."

Jamie nodded, "That sounds like it runs in the family. I, um...I kind of found his room. Scott's I mean."

Veronica looked at the door of Scott's room and replied, "We just couldn't change a thing, you know?"

Jamie nodded and muttered, "Goodnight" as he was practically sleeping on his feet. He went to his own room and was asleep by the time his head fit the pillow.

The next day dawned bright. Kyle and Taylor went to school while the others were going to the vault opening later that day. The TV was on and when Casey heard the news she called the others.

"Last night, businessman Eric Johnson was arrested for multiple counts of fraud as well as the endangerment of Scott Mars, the young boy who was made famous for holding the only code to a billion dollar vault.

Mars who is now in his teens, was put into hiding for his safety and it is not know wither he will make an appearance today at the opening of the famous vault.

The police arrested Mr Johnson after an anonymous call was made to the police about illegal drugs being taken at one of his parties. After a search of the house, files were found in his office, partially destroyed. This allowed the police to search the house and the office completely finding more than enough for an arrest."

The four of them stood in the sitting room and were silent. Then Logan placed a hand on Jamie's shoulder and said, "Looks like you're home free kid."

"And Scott," Jamie replied.

Logan took Veronica's hand and she smiled at him. They walked into the kitchen and Casey mumbled, "I'm happy for them. They deserve Scott back."

Jamie just nodded and Casey asked him, "What's wrong?" She linked her arm through his and leaned her chin on his shoulder.

Jamie swallowed and asked, "What if they don't like me? My parents I mean?"

Casey smiled slightly and responded, "Jamie, it wouldn't be possible for them not to like you."

Jamie sighed and Casey said, "Look, we'll meet your parents later at the bank. Then the four of us will go back to New Jersey and sort things out. My foster family probably haven't even bothered to wonder where I am."

Jamie looked at her and asked, "But what if I don't want that? I like it here in Neptune."

"You like it here or you like this family?" Casey asked him and Jamie couldn't meet her eye.

"As much as you might want to be, you are not Scott Mars. If I had my way you would be and we could stay in Neptune."

Jamie looked over at the kitchen. Logan was leaning against the counter drinking coffee while teasing Veronica. She responded by swatting him with her hand while she reached into her briefcase for another file.

"I know," Jamie said quietly, "I know."

"Oh crap!" They both looked over to see Veronica holding a textbook. "Kyle left his history book here!"

"I'll bring it to him," Jamie offered, "The school is only a few blocks away."

Soon he was walking in the fresh air to the school. The walk help clear his head and by the time he reached the school, he was in a better mood. There was no one in the hallways when he walked in the doors and he made his way to what he assumed was reception.

But when he was halfway down the hall, the bell rang and students poured out of the doors. Most of them were a head and shoulders shorter than him so he easily spotted Kyle walking in his direction.

"Hey!" he called causing Kyle to look over at him.

"You forgot your book this morning."

Kyle grunted and grabbed it from him and Jamie replied, "You're welcome."

By this time, most of the students had meandered off to other classes and Jamie turned to leave. He stopped when he heard a slam and he looked around to see a bunch of older boys pushing Kyle against the lockers, the history book littered on the floor.

He saw red and marched up behind these boys, saying, "Do we have a problem here?"

"Back off, assh-."

The boy talking turned around and stopped mid-sentence when he realised he only came up to Jamie's chest. Jamie raised an eyebrow while Kyle wriggled his way out of another boys grasp and went to the older boy's side.

"The way I see it," Jamie said, "We can do this two ways, the hard way or the easy way. What's it going to be?"

Minutes later Jamie and Kyle walked out of the principal's office, with the other boys still in the room.

"I can't believe they really thought they could fight you!" Kyle said as he walked to his class.

Jamie shrugged and looked at the slip of paper in his hand. "I can't believe the principal gave me detention. I don't even go to this school!"

Kyle smiled slightly and stopped outside a classroom door. "I have one question though," Jamie asked, "If these kids have been bothering you, then why didn't you tell your parents?"

Kyle frowned, "You have met my parents, right? I wouldn't wish their wrath on anyone. Plus I didn't think it was that big a deal."

Jamie sighed and replied, "Trust me, it is. Next time, just tell your parents. I don't want to have to drive all the way from New Jersey just to teach them a lesson."

Kyle nodded and then Jamie said, "But I think I found the reason why you are so angry at Scott."

When Kyle frowned again, Jamie replied, "You're not angry at him because he gets all the attention; you're angry at him for not being here. For not being there for you or Taylor. You're angry at him because he wasn't the one to scare those bullies or make Taylor a paper plane or look in her closet for monsters."

Kyle sighed and replied, "He should be here."

Jamie nodded and said, "He will be. Maybe even later today."

Kyle's eyes snapped up to meet his and Jamie said, "I'm not promising anything but maybe."

Kyle nodded and then he said, "I need to get to class."

Jamie smiled at him and walked away down the corridor. It was a few minutes later when he was walking down the sunny street next to a park that someone grabbed his arm.

Turning around, he jumped and tugged his arm away from the grasp of Richard Johnson. Richard held his hands up and said, "I'm not here to hurt you. I saw you walking by and I'm here to thank you."

Jamie looked at him wearily and Richard said, "For as long as I can remember, I've been under my brother's thumb. He didn't let me marry the girl I love, even when she had our daughter Emily."

He pointed towards a young girl and a woman who were sitting on a picnic blanket under a tree. They were looking at Richard and Jamie and the girl waved at them. Jamie raised his hand slightly to wave back and looked at Richard. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, the usually clothes for a day at the park.

"Even when Emily got sick and needs surgery, he would rather have spent what money we had on hosting lavish balls like the one last night."

"She still needs surgery?" Jamie asked.

Richard nodded and replied, "Yes. That's why we're going to the bank today. Maybe, just maybe, Emily will be the first person to open the vault and she'll get the money."

Richard sighed and replied, "I'm sorry for all the trouble we have caused you."

Jamie could only nodded and walk away just wanting to get back to Logan and Veronica's house. He was soon back at the beach house and walked into the living room to see Logan, Veronica and Casey ready to leave.

"The vault is going be open in an hour. Eric Johnson managed to weasel his way to being at the vault opening so it looks like he'll still be the first to have to money," Logan explained picking up his keys.

"As long as that man can't hurt Scott anymore I don't care if he gets the money."

Casey threw Jamie his coat and they soon left the house.


	6. Chapter 6

**Outsider**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except the OCs.

Neptune Private Bank was a big grey building with sweeping stone steps and gaping windows. Many 09ers used the bank for its safety deposit boxes especially in the years since the vault had been put there.

Jamie stood outside this bank looking up at it, the bank windows staring back down at him. For the first time since he started all of this, Jamie suddenly felt small and out of his league. He put a hand around the ring on his necklace and sighed.

A hand on his arm shook him out of his own thoughts and he looked over to see Casey looking at him in concern.

"Are you ready?" she asked and Jamie nodded.

Logan and Veronica were waiting at the door of the bank and the four of them entered the building. Their footsteps echoed over the large entrance, which had a large door at the end of it that led to the main part of the bank-where the vault was.

There were wooden benches around the walls and two police officers were sitting on one with Eric Johnson between them in handcuffs. He was refusing to look at anyone, staring stubbornly at the far wall. A few benches down, Richard Johnson sat with his daughter and-by the looks of the new ring on her finger- his fiancée. Various bank officials were dotted around the room, waiting for the time when they would usher the people to the vault.

"We'll be in front of the vault with about five minutes left on the time lock," Veronica said to them, her eyes gazing around the room, "Eric Johnson will of course get the money but we're here in case your parents and Scott show up."

"Do you think they will?" Jamie asked, as Casey mumbled something about getting a drink from the vending machines.

"It's possible," Logan said, "I mean wouldn't you want to see the end of this whole mess?"

Jamie nodded and then said, "I should tell you, today when I went to give Kyle back his book, I found out he's been having trouble with bullies."

Veronica and Logan exchanged looks and then Veronica sighed, "Great. Now I really know what crap parents were are."

"No!" Jamie said, his voice echoing around the room. He paused until other people had turned away from looking at him and he said to them, "You two are great parents."

Logan grinned slightly and said," Thanks kid, but it's hard to believe that."

Jamie shook his head again. "You have one son in hiding; that's not your fault. As well as that, you raised a daughter who is happy and as nosey as you are while your son maybe angry but that's normal. Plus," he said thinking back to the fight earlier in the day, "he's got really great right hook."

Veronica and Logan smiled slightly and Jamie said, "If my parents are anything like you two, I'll be happy."

Veronica sighed and took his hand. "Well if Scott is anything like you then we're the lucky ones."

Suddenly a bank official came over to them to tell them that they would be going into the main room in ten minutes.

"I'm just going to go to the bathroom," Jamie said, letting go of Veronica's hand and walking towards the restrooms. When he was washing his hands, his filled his cupped hands with water and let the cold liquid hit his face. He gasped and wiped some tissue over his face to dry it. It didn't clear his head much.

The door opened and Jamie heard footsteps walk over to the sink. He looked up and was greeted with the sight of a blonde boy his age. There was only one other person his age in the world that would be let into this bank on this day.

"You must be...?"

The boy nodded and replied, "My name has been Alex for the past few months. And you must be Jamie?"

Jamie nodded and a silence fell between them. "We knew each other," Alex said suddenly and Jamie replied, "I remember. Carl used to show us magic tricks and we had to share a room."

Alex smiled and agreed. "We used to copy those tricks over and again."

"Then we got bored and just went to play pirates."

Alex nodded, leaning against the sink. "You're lucky you know," Jamie said, "You have really great parents."

Alex smiled and there was a silence. "At least we don't have to share a room again," Alex said, "I don't have to put up with your snoring!"

Jamie laughed and replied, "No, you were the one who was snoring. I used to try and throw stuff at you to make you wake up and stop. I nearly threw the nightlight once."

Alex laughed and then there was a knock on the door. "Hurry up! We're about to go into the vault." Alex sighed and looked at Jamie.

"Well it was nice meeting you," he said and with a parting handshake, Alex left. Jamie looked at the mirror and sighed at his reflection.

Suddenly an idea slotted into his mind.

A light went off, something clicked.

Jamie found that he was breathing heavily as everything, all the moves and actions of the past thirteen years showed themselves in his mind like pieces on a chessboard.

The realisation that he had five minutes to fix everything and make sure Eric Johnson didn't win hit him fast.

He quickly hurried out if the restroom and stopped to look at the people in the room. The Johnsons and the police were near the main door to the vault room, while two other people he guessed were Carl and Jane were standing near Veronica, Logan, Casey and Alex.

They looked at him and Veronica said, "Jamie, these are-."

"Not right now, Veronica!" he said hurrying past them and towards Emily Johnson.

Her parents frowned at him but he pulled them away from everyone else and started whispering to them. Then he kneeled down to Emily and took her hand. He talked to her for a moment and then he stood up. Whispering to the bank official for a few moments, Jamie then made his way back to the group.

He looked at Carl and Jane but then said, "We're going in now, but I need to say something before the vault is opened."

Veronica and Logan looked at each other but nodded and together they all made their way to the main room.

The vault was on the left wall and the large metal door only had a number pad on it to put the code in and a handle. The right of the room was filled with row upon row of safety deposit boxes, which had tables in front of him. At the back wall was a row of tills. Everyone was told to stand in the middle of the room and then a bank official spoke. "Mister Jamie Carter has asked could he say a few words that are important to the situation at hand."

Jamie took a step forward and Eric Johnson said, "What on earth could you say that would be of importance? Who are you?"

Jamie stood in the middle of all of them and said, "I'm mentioned in your files. I'm Carl and Jane's son, the people who hid Scott Mars from you. That's them over there."

Carl and Jane exchanged looks and then returned back to Jamie. Jamie smiled suddenly and laughed slightly.

"I thought everything had been figured out. I thought there was no mystery but there is. Everything made sense only a few minutes ago and one thing has been made so clear to me."

Jamie looked at Eric Johnson and said, "You are completely and utterly stupid!"

There was a silence, none of them believing neither what he said nor what this had to do with the vault.

Jamie laughed and said, "I mean it's clearly all about misdirection. Magic!"

Everyone was still confused and Veronica asked, "Jamie where are you going with this?"

Jamie looked at Carl and Jane and then back at everyone. "Don't you see? They tricked all of you! They made you look one way while they were going the other. They made you think they took Scott Mars with them when really," he gestured slightly, "they left him exactly where he was."

Suddenly there was a beep and everyone turned to see Emily standing beside an open vault, Jamie's ring sitting in her hand. There was a shocked silence and Eric Johnson turned back to Jamie, who smirked.

"Abracadabra, you son of bitch."

-**Later-**

Chaos followed.

Jamie didn't remember much, perhaps because of the adrenaline pumping through his head. Eric Johnson lunged at him in anger but Logan tackled him first.

The police had separate them and had to practically sedate Eric Johnson. His brother meanwhile was beside Emily and his fiancée while Casey was be Jamie's side.

Veronica was standing beside Logan and they were looking between him and Carl and Jane to see if it was actually true. Alex just seemed very confused.

"The code," Jamie remembered saying, "Edward Johnson knew I wouldn't remember so he engraved it in the inside of a ring, so it looked like a normal bar code. That was what he was flipping in his hand that day; not a coin."

Now he was sitting outside in the waiting area of the bank again on a wooden bench while Casey had gone to the bathroom and the adults were talking in a group trying to make sense of all this.

Jamie looked at Veronica and Logan. He had her hair; his smirk. He inherited his height; her eyes. How could he not see it before?

"Jamie?" He turned and looked to see Richard Johnson standing beside him, holding a file. "Um, I was looking trough the vault and it appears my father didn't just hide money there."

He handed him the file and Jamie frowned as he opened it. There were many legal documents mentioning a child.

"It seems my father had another child, one that we knew nothing of. The reason I want you to see it is because...well, look at the name."

Jamie frowned and scanned the document. Suddenly his face dropped and he muttered quietly as if not believing it.

"Casey...?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Outsider**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

Jamie watched as Casey paced back and forward, from one armchair to the other, in front of the coffee table. He was standing beside the couch as she mumbled over and over again.

"Case?" he asked carefully, "Are you ok?"

Casey stopped and glared at him. "Do I look ok?" she snapped, "What kind of thing is that to ask a person who just found out that her birth father is a billionaire who left her money- and a brother!" She started pacing again, so Jamie walked over to her.

"Ok, calm down for a second," he said, guiding her to the couch and sitting her down. He placed himself in front of her on the coffee table and paused to look at her while she tried to gather her thoughts.

Casey glanced at him and frowned, asking, "What is it?"

"We drive across the continent, get involved in a nearly two decade long feud and find out that I'm the person that has had the code to a vault around my neck...and now you're freaking out?"

Casey sighed and said, "Well I can deal with your shit! It's mine that I have problems with!" She sighed and placed her head in her hands.

"Hey," Jamie said softly, taking her hands from her cheeks into his, "Everything it going to be ok. No one is forcing you to move into their house or anything, just take your time to think things over. Richard just wants to get to know you."

Casey nodded and looked down at their hands. "Taking about getting to know long lost relatives, have you talked to Veronica and Logan yet?"

Jamie sighed and looked over his shoulder to see Veronica and Logan standing on the beach, where they had spent the last few minutes since they had arrived back to the house from the bank. Taylor and Kyle were playing near them but Jamie had stayed inside when Casey had started to freak out.

He turned back to Casey and she said, "You need to talk to them."

Jamie snorted and replied, "So says the girl who won't talk to her brother."

"Yes, but we're not staying in my brother's house tonight are we?" There was a pause and Casey said, "I'll talk to my brother this evening if you go talk to them now."

Jamie stared at her and Casey pointed to the door. Sighing, he got up and walked outside to the beach.

Taylor was looking around at the sand for shells while Kyle was tailing along behind her with a bucket in his hand for them. Jamie smiled at this; Kyle had been much kinder to his sister recently, to the happiness of his parents. Veronica and Logan were standing near some deck chairs, Logan's arm wrapped around his wife's shoulders.

"Hey," Jamie said and it even sounded pathetic to him. They looked at him and his worried stomach settled slightly at their smiles.

"Hey, is Casey ok?" Logan asked and when Jamie nodded, Veronica asked, "Are you ok?"

He shrugged and watched as Kyle bent down to Taylor's level as she found a shell.

"When did you find out?"

Jamie looked at Veronica and she said, "When did you find out that you were Scott?"

Jamie sighed and put his hands in his pockets. "I started to remember things. And I knew something was up when you said that S-that I was afraid of the dark as a kid. I remembered that when I lived with Jamie or Alex or whatever he is called, he was the one that snored and I was the one that needed the nightlight."

Silence fell over them.

"So what now?" Logan asked, "Do we spend the rest of our lives in awkward silences?" A grin tugged on his face while Jamie smirked.

"We want to get to know you," Veronica said.

Jamie frowned and asked, "Don't you already know me? I mean, it's not like this is our first meeting."

Veronica sighed and replied, "Well, that what I always thought I'd ask you when I met you! This isn't exactly the typical situation!"

"Since when are we typical? That's what makes us awesome!" Logan exclaimed. Jamie snorted and Veronica smiled.

Silence fell over them again as Kyle and Taylor walked up to them. Taylor skipped forwards until she was right in front of Jamie, so she comically had put her head back far to see him. Kyle put the full bucket of shells on one of the deck chairs and Taylor asked, "Jamie, I thought you said Scott was coming home?"

Jamie paused and looked at Veronica and Logan, who nodded to him. Jamie looked at Taylor and said, "Well, you see there's something that I found out myself today. I, um...I am Scott. I'm your brother." Kyle and Taylor's mouths dropped open at the same time, causing Jamie to bit his lip to stop himself laughing.

Then Taylor exclaimed, "Yes! I get to keep you!"

With that she launched herself at him and Jamie picked her up in a hug. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and Jamie looked over at Kyle.

The other boy was standing there and he said, "So are you going to stick around?" Taylor raised her head and Jamie looked over at Veronica and Logan.

They gave him hopeful looks and Jamie replied, "Well I can't fly from New Jersey every time you need me to beat someone up for you. I might stay here just in case." Surprisingly, Kyle walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Well then it's nice to have you around."

Then Taylor grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled Kyle into a hug with Jamie. Logan and Veronica looked at the three of them and Veronica put her head on her husband's shoulder.

"This is a new start," he said, "for all of us."

Veronica sighed happily and then stated, "This cheesy family feel isn't going to last."

**-6 months later-**

"And how are you doing Scott?" said the therapist as she leaned back in her chair, her notes balancing on her knee.

Scott tilted his head and replied, "You asked me that an hour ago when I came in." The therapist smiled and said, "Well this is our last session, so I just want to make sure that you are happy."

Scott nodded and shrugged, "I am happy; for the first time in a long time."

"And how are you with the name change? Do you like being called Scott?"

"It's a good name; it's my name. I finally feel like myself, like I have somewhere I belong." The therapist nodded and then said, "Well then, I think we're about done."

A few minutes later, Scott walked out of the therapist's office to find Logan in the waiting room. He walked over to him just as Casey walked out of the other office. She shook her therapist's hand and then walked over to the other two.

"Let's get out of here," she muttered to them and the trio made their way out the door.

"I am so happy we don't have to go back there!" Scott said as he sat into the car, "I still don't see why we had to visit therapists in the first place." Casey was in the back seat and Logan answered as he started the car.

"I told you it was a condition of us getting custody and Richard getting Casey; the two of you had to discuss everything with professionals."

Scott shrugged as they drove out of the parking lot.

Soon they were back at the house and Casey started to text her brother to tell him she would be staying for dinner. They were walking towards the house from the car when Scott stopped. Casey, who was too busy texting her brother, collided with his back while Logan turned to look at him.

"What's wrong kid?" he asked and Scott said, "The door is open."

Logan turned to his house and saw that, in fact, the door was open.

The door was never just left open in their house.

"Stay there," Logan said as he walked towards the house.

"Ya, good luck with that," Scott muttered as he followed his father and Casey was close behind him. The three of them walked into the dark hallway and made their way quietly towards the kitchen.

Then as they turned the corner, they heard a loud, "Surprise!"

The sitting room was filled with both their families and there was food and decorations. Scott batted a balloon out of his face in time to catch Taylor, who had run towards him.

She smiled at him and said, "This is an 'It's great that you're not crazy anymore!' party."

Logan snorted and replied, "Honey, just because they went to a therapist doesn't mean they're crazy."

"Ya," Scott said, "But we'll still have the food if that ok?"

Veronica walked over to them, Kyle by her side, and said, "We just wanted to celebrate the fact that we can now get on with our lives."

Taylor jumped down and dragged Casey over to look at the decorations she had helped put up while Kyle followed to make sure she didn't destroy anything.

Scott turned to both his parents and said, "By the way, I called Carl and Jane; can Alex come and visit for a while?"

Logan nodded and Veronica asked, "His visit wouldn't have anything to do with that fact that you need help looking into a fraud case at the school?"

Scott sniffed and replied, "I have no idea what you are talking about." With that he went off to join the party.

Veronica shook her head and Logan wrapped his arms around her. "Face it, Veronica," he said, "Scott is as troublesome and curious as you were in high school." Then he frowned and asked, "Do you think he knows that the principal still hides the computer passwords under his stapler?"

This time Veronica smiled and answered, "Oh I'm pretty sure he's already hacked into the system."

With that they walked over to their friends, happy that finally their family was complete.


End file.
